I had to re-instate adblocker to make dpr usable

[DavidMillier]

The last couple of days the forums have become unusable. Pages took an age to load or simply stopped loading halfway, links became unclickable and Firefox was permanently displaying a message at the top saying that the site was making loading very slow.

It turned out to be related to DPR's new advertising. I had set my ad blocker to "allow some unobtrusive advertising". I hate having my pages swamped with multiple pop up boxes of video adverts, makes the experience like one of those sports copyright breaker video feed channels, but I felt that I needed to at least make a gesture towards supporting the new management's need for income. But it isn't going to work if it renders the site unusable.

Switching the ad blocker back to block all advertising solved the problem, at least from my perspective.

If this is DPR's only alternative to a pay wall, I'm afraid it isn't won't work for me and I will end up seeking discussions at some other site.

 

[Rodenmg]

Totally agree. I’m going through the same crap.

 

[Jeff2013]

This is curious, to me. I am running Chrome on OSX and have none of these problems. I never consciously installed any ad-blocker, but there, obviously, must be one running in the background.

Using my iPad, however, is a different story. The ad's just keep popping-up faster than I can get rid of them, which is really frustrating. I have not taken the time to research remedies.

 

[bfrische]

I have three adblockets installed.

In order:

uBlock blocked 8 ads on this page

Adblock plus blocked 4 the ublock missed

Adblock (not plus) blocked 1 that the previous 2 missed.

13 ads to post content.

 

[Scottelly]

The last couple of days the forums have become unusable. Pages took an age to load or simply stopped loading halfway, links became unclickable and Firefox was permanently displaying a message at the top saying that the site was making loading very slow.

It turned out to be related to DPR's new advertising. I had set my ad blocker to "allow some unobtrusive advertising". I hate having my pages swamped with multiple pop up boxes of video adverts, makes the experience like one of those sports copyright breaker video feed channels, but I felt that I needed to at least make a gesture towards supporting the new management's need for income. But it isn't going to work if it renders the site unusable.

Switching the ad blocker back to block all advertising solved the problem, at least from my perspective.

If this is DPR's only alternative to a pay wall, I'm afraid it isn't won't work for me and I will end up seeking discussions at some other site.

Yes, it seems the management doesn't actually use the site they build/maintain. If they did, then they'd realize they're turning their valuable site into something worthless - one of those sites you click away from as soon as you come across it. I think that's a shame. It's likely to cause the demise of this site . . . slowly this time, rather than an abrupt halt, like what was happening last time the site seemed to be about to die. It's as if the new owners don't understand that people are willing to take so much, and then there is a breaking point. It reminds me of radio. There are so many ads on the radio these days that I just don't turn it on anymore. If I want to hear music now I just look up a video on YouTube, and broadcast the sound through my stereo system. I don't watch regular TV anymore either, because they just inject SO many ads that I can't stand to watch regular TV either. Maybe I'm an outlier, but I think I am similar to most other people.

Your comments do seem to be reasonable to me David.

 

[Scottelly]

I have three adblockets installed.

In order:

uBlock blocked 8 ads on this page

Adblock plus blocked 4 the ublock missed

Adblock (not plus) blocked 1 that the previous 2 missed.

13 ads to post content.

Yeah. It's as if they don't even want us to interact with this site. What a shame.

I guess including 2 or 3 ads isn't enough for them. It's like they think it's a war, and they have to make it like a war or something.

Just include image banners! The good old in-line jpeg, with a plain old static advertisement, would work better, because it would actually be seen. They could charge for impressions. They already have affiliate links to products on Amazon in their reviews, previews, and in other places. I'm sure they earn plenty of money that way, considering the prices of the products they promote.

 

[Macro guy]

I run adblockers on all sites and I have enjoyed ad free browsing experience for decades

 

[SrMi]

I understand that sites need ads to survive, and I avoid using ad blockers whenever possible.

However, DPReview's implementation of ads (type and content) forced me to install an ad blocker for the first time (uBlock on Chrome, Mac OS X).

 

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Same here. Chrome. All I see pop up wise is one on the bottom,.which never actually loads any data. And it has an X in the upper left corner to get rid of the nothing.

I have no ad blocker installed, so this must be internal code.

Stan

 

[RobBurke]

I’m about to turn adblocking back on. I’m getting the one ad for “Julia 45” all the time. Tacky and boring. Is there no way to improve the quality of the ads?

 

[RetCapt]

I would have to describe my experience as inconsistent.

I am typing this using the Brave browser, which has ad blockers activated. I am seeing no ads.

About a week ago I logged in and got bombarded with notices to deactivate ad blockers. At that point the site was unusable.

So I brought up Google Chrome, without ad blockers. When I first logged in I had so many oversize ads (I am on a PC, not a phone) that the site was unusable, just like it had been on Brave. I did what I could to delete the ads, or at least get them from blocking the forum text, including going off and on the site several times. This worked. The ads are still there, but off to the side and not obtrusive. That is how it is today.

This morning, out of curiosity, I used Brave, still with ad blockers in place. No ads. No admonitions that I had to disable ad blockers. Right now it is the same as before I was forced to change browsers.

I doubt this inconsistency is intentional, or even if DPR is aware of it. But it does beg the question of what is going on and why.

I also have to wonder about the benefit of ads to DPR, and how that will help sustain the site. I fit the known major demographic here. I am an old (83), long retired male. With inflation my discretionary funds have dropped. For us, that is fine. Our home is paid for, as is the rolling stock. We have everything we need or want. We live very comfortably. Photographically I have everything I need for what I want to do. My last new camera was 2018. Over the years I have had a number of cameras come to me because the owners wanted the latest and greatest. These cameras still provide the excellent images they did when new, which inspired their original purchase. I am the beneficiary. I don't have GAS, so I have no interest or need for additional photographic purchases. I can only carry so much, and I like to travel light.

Thus I am the antithesis of the intended target for advertisers. If I in any way typify the demographic here, I have to wonder the worth of ads to the sponsors.

As others have commented, I have no interest in a subscription system. I do not subscribe to any internet sites. I have never done so, ever, on any site, nor do I intend to set a precedent. I follow a number of other sites that coincide with my areas of interest, all free.

The overall impression I am now getting here is one of inconsistency and instability.

I hope that DPR has a business plan to resolve these issues.